Thursday, January 26, 2017

A small drawing on handmade Indian paper, done with soluble carbon (not ink) and a brush. The carbon was much darker than I expected, & is at least partially erasable, so this might work as a drawing medium that gives me the richness of ink but with more flexibility...further study is needed...

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

The first in a possible new series of blog postings where I scan something interesting, artistic or otherwise: my daughter was recently on vacation in Mexico, & among the gifts she returned with was this chocolate bar, which I thought was worth the time to scan. On the right of the image is Spanish/English text which describes the imagery better than I could. Click on the image to zoom in for more legible text.

Monday, January 16, 2017

I was just playing around with a glitch generator on this web site: http://jkirchartz.com/Glitchy3bitdither/GlitchCruiser.html
Basically, glitch art mimics various "errors" that can occur on computer & video screens, for example when interference, scanlines, noise, ghosting etc. appear in digital images. It's an interesting way to corrupt & destroy your artwork (virtually) & can bring out all kinds of random characteristics that might possibly be beautiful in themselves and/or lead to other creative ideas (or not). Here are a few I created...I could have gone much further, but felt that I wanted to retain something of the original image (Asleep in the Abyss). Enjoy.

Two versions of a new drawing piece—the first was done on a circle of cardboard that came in a frozen pizza packet (waste not, want not), the second, more worked version is on actual drawing paper. The first one is simpler, the second much more complex—I like both for those reasons.

The Veiling of the Bride, 2017, ink on cardboard, 10.75" diameter approx.

Sunday, January 15, 2017

I was in Saugerties today (nearby town across the Hudson River from here) in a used bookstore...there is a very nice one there called "Our Bookshop", where I found this large Bruegel book. The book is from 1987, so the printing quality is a little dated, but it seems to be filled with wonderful images. I've always liked Breugel, with his drawings & paintings packed full of interesting, beautiful & grotesque detail, so I'm preparing to feast on this. And it was only $12. Bargain.

Monday, January 02, 2017

It's customary to do a drawing first, and then a painting later. I sometimes, such as now, reverse that process. I did the little painting The Island of Winter a few days ago (below), and tonight I did the much larger drawing of the same name & idea. Maybe at some point I'll do another painting, but larger still. Also, my second drawing of 2017.

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About Me

I'm a British artist currently resident in upstate New York, where I live in the wondrous Hudson Valley with my wife & children. My work deals with imagination, myth, the human condition & social issues, and the way they intersect & allow us to understand the world. I've exhibited extensively in Europe, the USA, & more recently, Israel. You can see more of my work at www.ayton.net.
Regarding re-using my artwork from this blog (for not-for-profit purposes): in most cases, it's OK. Please credit me as the creator of the image, & if possible link to the page where you found the piece. If the image is used in an inappropriate setting, I will most likely ask you to remove it. Thanks.